Driving mechanism for motor vehicles



May 27, 1924. l 4 1,495,366 A. E. WILLIAMSON ET AL May ,27, 1924. 1,495,366

A. E. WILLIAMSON ET AL DRIVING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES' Filed Feb. 2. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 man.

Patented lido 2'?, y

W We,

Application lerl February To all v@iv/icm if) may concern;l

Be it known that we, ARTHUR Win LrAiisoN, a citizen oi' the United States, and a resident of Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State oi New Jersey., and Jenn l, (Avn, a citizen of the 7United States, and a resident of Bayside, in the county o Queens and State of New York, have jointly invented certain new and nsenl liiprovements in Driving` Mechanism :lor Motor Vehicles, of which the following is a speciiication.

The invention relates particularly to the rear axles oi automobiles and motor vehicles `generally and to ineens 'for inipartino" inotion therefrom to the rear driving wheels of such vehicles, and the invention consists in the novel features and cooperative arrangements of parts hereinafter described, and'garticnlarly pointed ont in the claims,

(lne purpose of the invention is to displace the differential gear or other type of balance gear at present employed in connection with the rear axles of automobiles and avoid wellknown objections incident to the use thereof one of which objections is that with the conventional type of differential gear .inaniniuin rotational tendency is given to the wheel which shows the least tractive e'lort or to that wheel which offers the least kresistancc as. for, example, the wheel which may be resting; on an icy or slippery road surface Aor the wheel which may momentarily leave the ground when the vehicle is traveling rapidly over a rough road, ln accordance with our invention equal traction is distributed to both driving wheels irrespective of the nature of the road, or snrfacebeneatli the tires, and hence the invention, as one advantage thereof, makes starting on icy or slippery roads when only one wheel is on resistable ground possible. A further decided advantage of our invention is thatit greatly 'facilitates travel over muddy roads. Equal traction distributed to both the inain driving wheels greatly 1nini mizes the tendency of the wheels to skid or resort to side slipping when the vehicle is driven over smooth pavements, which, when the conventional type balance gear is used, would favor greater rotational efforf: of one wheel over the other. We may mention also that with the use of our invention, when the diving power has 'eeen out o" and the vehicle is traveling hy its own FR MTR VE'IGLIS.

2, M23.. Serial No. 41351.

ments which will oind the wheels and axle] together when power is imparted to said axle to drive the vehicle forwardly and inovahle self-releasing driving elements which will hind the wheels and axle together when reverse motion is imparted to the asile to canse the vehicle to travel rearwardly, where by both wheels receive canal rotational elifort ln detail, we., in one iiorin illustrative of our invention, provide right and leitt hand threads on each end of the axle and.v on these threads mount conical irnstnrns whose bores 'threaded to engage said axle threads and we provide the wheels, concentrically therewith and with the axle, with hollow frustuins which match and loosely encompass said conical irnstunis. Vhen the axle is actuated lo drive the vehicle :fiorwardlyn the :right hand threads thereon will cause, at each wheel, one conical frnstumto more outwardly while the left hand threads thereon will canse the other conical 'frnsturn to move inwardly, said rustnins then entering into binding; engagement with their enclosing hollow -irustulrns to bind the wheel and axle together, and when the axle is reversed to niove the vehicle rearwardly, the rie-lit and lei't hand threads on the ends of said axle will, at each wheel, reverse the direction of travel of said conical frnstuins, releasing vvtheir outer ends rointhe enclosing hollow frustuins and causing their inner or adjacent ends to engage adjacent surfaces of said hollow frustuins and hind the axle and wheel togethen. 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Y 18 and the cones 31 to bind against the cone surfaces 21 of the sleeves 19, said' conical frustums thus becoming wedged. against said sleeves and serving as means for binding the axle 10 vand wheels 11 together so that the reverse motion -of the axle may be imparted to said wheels. When the motion of the axle is thus reversed and the double conical frustums are moved in a direction from each other, their inner conical surfaces or cones 29, 30 become instantly released from the sleeves 18, 19. When power is4 cut off. from the rear axle 10 as might be the case when coasting or going down an inclined surface or road-bed, there will be no action of the axle 10 to move the doubleconical frustums, and at this time the said frustums will loosen from their frustum sleeves and said sleeves may rotate freely on the ball-bearings around the axle and the double-conical frustums thereon.

It will be seen, therefore, that when power is applied to the axle 10 vfor driving the vehicle forwardly, the double conical frustums at each end of the axle move in a dil reetion towardv each other and engage the inner sections of their enclosed sleeves 18, 19 and effect the forward rotation of the driving wheels 11, that when power is applied to the axle 10 for moving the vehicle backwardly, the double-conical frustums are released from the inner sections of the sleeves 18, 19 and move in a direction away from each other and engage the outer sections of said sleeves, thereby serving to bind the axle and wheels 11 together and reverse the direction of rotation of said wheels, and that when no power is applied to the axle 10 or when power is cut off therefrom so that said axle is not in a state of rotation, both conicabfrustums are released from their wedging pressure on the sleeves 18, 19 and v permit the driving wheels to ,rotate freely under momentum or the kinetic energy of the moving vehicle.

The double-conical frustums are driving elements and each is automatically releasable on the reversal of the direction of travel of the vehicle or of the rotation of theaxle the outer ends of said .conical frustums or cones 29, 30 automatically releasing, when the direction `of travel of the vehicle is again reversed.

Since the rear axle 1() is in effect one continuous solid axle and ysince the threads on the ends thereof bind the double-conical frustums into binding relation with the wheels, when the vehicle is to move forwardly as Well as when it is to move backwardly, equal traction is distributed to both wheels, and to accomplish this purpose is one of the objects of our invention. Our invention eliminates the objections hereinbefore briefly referred to, as well as other objections, incident to the use of differential gears and solid connections between the sections of a rear axle and the driving wheels.

For convenience in assembling, the inner double-conical frustums affording the cones 30, 31 /may be made in two longitudinal halves applied upon the threads 24 -and bolted together or not as may be expedient.

lVe are aware that the/details of mechanism shown in the drawings and hereinbefore described may be modified in many respects within the scope of the appended claims, and therefore we do not limit our invention to details of form and arrangement otherwise than the prior art andthe appended claims Lmay require. i

lVliat we claim as our invention and d'esire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In driving mechanism for motor vehicles wherein a driving axle actuated from the motor is provided and wheels loosely mounted on the ends of the axle and adapted to revolve thereon with clutch mechanisms intermediate said axle and each of said wheels, a clutch mechanism comprising horizontally extending sleeves concentric and rigid withl the wheel, movable self-releasing driving elements connected with the axle at the end thereof and automatically engageable thereby with a plurality of inner circumferential surfaces of said sleeves when the axle is rotated in one direction, said surfaces being at opposite sides of the centraly plane of the wheel, and movable self-releasing driving elements connected with the axle .at the end thereof and automatically engageable thereby with other plural inner circumferential surfaces of said sleeves when the axle is reversed in rotation, said surfaces being at opposite sides of the central plane of thel wheel.

2.l In driving mechanism for motor vehicles wherein a driving axle actuated from the motor is provided and wheels loosely mounted on the ends ofthe axle and ada ted to revolve thereon with clutchmechamsms intermediate said axle and each of said wheels a clutch mechanism comprising screw threads on the end of the axle,'double conical frustums forming two vcones `Whose smaller ends are at the outer ends of the frustums and which frustums have interior threadsmeshing with said screw-threads and hollow conical frustums connected with the wheel and matching and enclosing said cones, said hollow. conical frustums permitting limited travel of the cones on said threads and becoming wedged with one set thereof when the axle is rotated in onedirection and with the other set thereof when the axle is reversed in rotation. y

3. ln driving mechanism formotor vehicles wherein a driving axle actuated from the motor is provided and wheels loosely mounted on the ends of the axle and adapted to revolve thereon with clutch mechanisms intermediate' said axle and eachV of said wheels, a clutch mechanism comprising right hand'threads and left handthreads on the end of the axle, double cones on and threaded to mesh with said right hand threads and said left hand threads and double hollow conical frustums concentric and rigid with the wheel and enclosing said cones, said hollow conical rustums permitting limited travel of thel cones on said threads and becoming wedged with outer opposite ends of the cones when the axle is rotated in one direction and with adjacent ends of said cones when the axle is rotated in a reverse direction, said double-cones, double conical frustums and right and left hand threads at the "end of the axle being at opposite sides of the central plane of the wheel.

4. ln driving mechanism for motor vehicles wherein a driving axle actuated from the motor is provided and wheels loosely mounted on the ends of the axle and adapted to revolve thereon with clutch mechanisms intermediate said axle and each ,of said wheels, a clutch mechanism comprising right hand threads and left hand threads on the memes' end 'of the axle, cones set reversely lto eacnA other so that their smaller ends project outwardly and said cones being'threaded to respectively mesh with said right and left hand threads, and hollow frustums connected with the wheel and' enclosing said cones and havmg their smaller ends extend- `ed outwardly, said hollow frustums permitto revolve thereon with clutch mechanisms intermediate said axle and each of said wheels, a clutch mechanism comprising right hand threads.y and left hand threads on the endof the axle, a plurality of double-cones at the end of the axle on and threaded to mesh with said right hand threads and said lett hand threads respectively, and the cones of each double cone having their larger ends adjacent to each other, and hollow frustums in pairs concentric and rigid with the wheel and enclosing said double cones, said hollow frustums permitting limited travel of the cones on said threads and becoming wedged with the outer cone of each double cone when the axle is rotated in onev direction and with the inner cone of each double cone when the axle is reversed in motion, said double cones, frustums and right and left hand threads atthe endotthe axle being at opposite sides of the central vertical plane ofthe wheel.

lin testimony whereof we hereunto atlix our signatures.

ARTHUR n. wiLLiaMsoN. Joran n. cave. e 

